Lauren Oestmann

Lauren Oestmann is a licensed clinical social worker with 15 years of practice in Illinois. She greets people with straightforward support and a calm approach. Lauren aims to make starting therapy feel manageable for a worried parent who needs clear steps and practical help.

She has experience across many settings, including residential substance-abuse programs, adoption preservation work, corrections, and private practice. That background gives her a range of ways to approach common struggles like anxiety, anger, addictions, depression, and sleep problems.

Lauren uses therapies that focus on skills and real-life changes. She draws on cognitive behavioral therapy to help identify unhelpful thinking and build different habits. Dialectical behavior therapy skills are used for emotional regulation and tolerating strong feelings.

Motivational interviewing helps when motivation feels stuck, and solution-focused therapy keeps sessions practical and goal-oriented. Trauma-focused therapy is part of her toolkit for people processing past harm. Sessions emphasize clear strategies, short-term goals, and step-by-step plans.

Her style is client-centered and strength-based. She works to listen first, then pick a few concrete steps to try between sessions. Parents who want straightforward guidance on anger, behavior, sleep, or parenting stress often find this approach useful.

To begin, she asks people to complete a brief matching questionnaire and schedule based on availability. That helps match goals to a therapist and to plan the first steps together.

How these approaches translate to online work

Many of her core methods focus on practical skills you can learn and practice between meetings. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, for example, helps identify patterns of thinking that keep problems going and replaces them with different habits to change behavior and mood. Dialectical Behavior Therapy provides straightforward skills for managing intense emotion and improving distress tolerance during hard moments.

Motivational Interviewing is often used when someone feels stuck about change; it uses guided conversation to clarify personal reasons for change and small next steps. Lauren will work collaboratively to determine which approach, or which mix of methods, feels like the best fit for each person's goals and preferences.

If you prefer online sessions, check which formats are currently offered before booking since the biography does not list specific options. Online work can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy day, allow shorter check-ins when needed, and remove travel time. It can also let people practice skills in the settings where they live their daily lives, then bring observations back to sessions for troubleshooting and adjusting the plan.